Ice Breaker
by Lgbabyblu
Summary: Joe and Frank go on a trip that was given as a gift, but would they survive long enough in the ice cold woods before their father Fenton can save them? Would a brash move from one of the brothers cost him more than his own life? Read and find out.
1. Chapter 1

Thanks for wanting to try out this story!!! And keep in mind of stuff you want to change, keep, or stuff that's just incorrect? I don't know? Construstive criticism!

-Lgbabyblu

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"I see it! I see it Frank!" Joe yelled excitedly like a 5 year old who was given a free shopping spree at a toy store.

"Yeah, I see and I'm not blind you know!" Frank said jokingly back to his year younger brother.

Frank shifted his pack, stretching his tired back muscles from the 1½ hour hike through the winter scenery to their cabin.

Frank Hardy was 16 years old with brown hair, brown eyes and lean figure like his father, Fenton Hardy. His year younger brother Joseph Hardy who was actually 14 was only a week and a few days away from being 15, was almost his complete opposite with blond hair, blue eyes and a lean but turning muscular figure. His brother had his mother, Laura Hardy's fair features, blond hair, and blue eyes, while he had inherited his father Fenton Hardy's darker features, brown hair, brown eyes and tall, lean figure.

Frank grinned, happy to see his younger brother so happy. He could still remember the look on Joe's face when they had come home and found all the lights off. Joe had called out for their parents after turning on the lights to find a glass cup with water around it smashed on the ground. Joe had freaked out and Frank had feigned his worry, except he already knew what was going on. As they walked a little farther, following a trail to another smashed cup, they found a message saying they weren't going to see their parents for a few days, which scared Joe even more. When they reached the kitchen, the kitchen door had a message posted there saying, 'I hope you don't miss your mommy and daddy much.' He had purposely told his brother to check outside, giving some lame excuse that it must lead to something. They both opened the door, slowly to reveal a message written in red paint on butcher paper on the ground saying, 'Because its your birthday and your going on a vacation!' That was when their parents, Iola, Chet, Tony, Callie, Phil, and Biff jumped up from behind everywhere in the yard. Joe had been so shocked, he had gone weak in the knees, and everyone had to apologize to him for scaring him.

This had been a treat from their parents for a week off, due to Joe's coming birthday and their week off break. Fenton with the help of a family friend, Sergeant Con Riley had come to the cabin a few days ago to load everything into the cabin while the boys were in school, so their skis, snowboards, food, and drinks were already in the cabin. The cabin was borrowed from Frank's 15 yr old, blond hair, brown eyed girlfriend Callie Shaw's father. Their father was suppose to meet them on the last 3 days they would be spending up on the mountain cabin, because he wanted his boys to spend some brotherly time together.

Joe ran ahead of Frank towards the cabin, relishing the fact that he could finally put down his heavy pack and finally rest his aching back and legs. He didn't know what his brother had put as quote "extra" in his pack before they left the house.

When he reached the door, he reached for the door knob to turn it but it was locked. He realized he didn't have the key to the cabin, so Frank must have it.

"Frank! I need the key! Hurry up!" Joe yelled, wrapping his arms around his torso.

Needless to say, he was freezing, seeing that it was snowing a little and they have been outside for over an hour.

Frank rolled his eyes, putting his hands into his jeans. He dug around for a few seconds and froze. Where was the key? He patted his jacket, his back pockets, his front pockets and came out empty handed.

"Oh no…" Frank said, giving Joe a cheeky smile.

"What do you mean oh no? " Joe said with dread.

This can't be happening. They were an hour and a half away from the car, and Frank didn't have the key to the cabin.

"Now how are we supposed to get in?" Joe asked, putting his pack on the cabin door step.

He sat down on the ground with his elbows on his knees, blowing his warm breath over his hands.

Frank put his pack down next to Joe, trying to remember where his keys went. He swore he put it in his jacket pocket when they drove up here. It wasn't like him to misplace things, unless it feel out when he took his jacket off during the trip and then put it back on when they arrived.

"I think the keys dropped out of my pocket in the car." Frank said, shaking his head and looking up at the sky.

What a great way to start off their vacation.

"We have to walk back." Frank said, watching amusingly at his younger brother's face.

Joe sprung up, pulling on the door knob furiously.

"Come on! Open! Please!" Joe pleaded, pushing the door as hard as he could.

Frank pulled Joe away from the door, feeling guilty for not checking if his keys were still in his pockets.

"Come on. If we start now, we can come back faster." Frank said trying to lighten the mood up a bit but Joe wasn't looking any happier about their situation. "Think of it this way, we can get more exer…" Frank started to say until his brother's glare stopped him.

As Joe walked ahead of him, he picked up a hand full of snow, packed it together into a rough looking ball, and threw slightly hard at the back of Joe's head.

"Hey!" Joe yelled, turning around quickly just to have time to duck as another ball came flying his way.

Joe quickly took a chunk of ice he found on the ground and threw it at his older brother as they ran to the car.

"You can't get me!" Frank yelled back at his brother who was rapidly gaining on him.

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**Roughly 4 hours later…**

Joe let out a loud yawn, stumbling his way through the snow. He was exhausted due to a very long walk, the snow, soaked boots, soaked clothes, chills, and the fact that he was too excited to sleep the night before.

They just came back from the car, and it just so happened that the keys fell in between the cushions in the driver's seat, so it took longer than expected to find the keys.

"Are we there yet?" Joe asked for the 50th time on their walk back.

"Almost."

"That's what you said the last 5 times I asked."

Frank was starting to get very irritated by his brother's whining. He understood why Joe was complaining so much but he was enduring the same elements of misery as he was.

Joe quickly shut his mouth, seeing Frank's demeanor change from understanding to frustration to very close to anger. Although Frank hardly ever got angry, the few times he did get angry were scary. He swore the top of Frank's head was going to pop right off when one of his rage modes get turned on.

Walking slowly for another 15 minutes, Joe was the first one to spot the cabin again. From what he could see, their packs were buried in snow.

"Home sweet home for the next week." Frank said as they slowly trudged their way to the cabin door.

Joe shivered as Frank put the key in to the lock and opened the door. They both grabbed hold of a pack, and dragged it into their house, throwing both of the packs right in the middle of the cabin.

"I get the bed!" Frank said quickly, lying back on the bed with a triumphant smile on his face.

Joe glared at Frank. He looked around the cabin, finally noticing one bed in the corner, a fire place on the other, a hard looking couch next to the bed, a small room to one side of the cabin for a bathroom, a cabinet next to the fireplace, and then a pile of stuff next to the bed. He could just see his snowboard under the mattress.

"All right, you called it." Joe said glumly.

He wasn't going to let something like a bed ruin his vacation/birthday present. He'd just have to make due with the couch.

Happy that his younger brother didn't complain about their accommodations, Frank got up, knowing that they both should be hungry and cold. Pushing himself up, he got on his feet to look for a lighter or some matches to light a fire, seeing that the same fireplace is their only source both of their necessities. He dug around a couple of the bags that his dad and Con brought in and found it inside the box of canned foods.

"Hey Joe, anything in particular you wanna eat." Frank asked as he took out a can of Chili. "Joe?" He said again, not hearing an answer to his question.

Frank turned around since Joe wasn't answering and saw his brother sprawled across the couch, still in his winter attire. He gave a slight smile because Joe always could sleep almost anywhere at anytime. It was like his younger brother was more 5 than 15 since he still seemed to need naps every once and a while.

"Come on Joey." Frank said, using Joe's babyish name to rouse him up.

Instead, Joe only turned into the couch in a fetal position.

Frank sighed knowing full well that Joe wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

He quickly started a fire in the fireplace, opening a few cans of chili into a medium sized pot.

Suddenly, there was a loud boom and rumbling sensation.

Joe woke up startled, listening intently to catch what he thought he heard.

"Frank…"

"Get away from the windows! Avalanche!"

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Okey Dokey…! Hope you liked this 1st chapter, 1st attempt to write Hardy Boys fanfiction! If you like, please give me some constructive criticism! If not… then this story will discontinue because I'd know no one wants to read it. Thank you and hope you review!

-Lgbabyblu


	2. Chapter 2

Upon request by somebody, I wrote this chapter like... as fast I could with my hectic school schedule, but yah... hope you all like it, because I yah... I kind of rushed. There will be better next time. YAH see, reviwing does get chapters going, lol. Thanx for reading!

Lgbabyblu

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Frank looked wide eyed as he watched the cabin window shatter open as a load of snow burst through the empty hole in the wall, knocking him off his feet into a lounge chair. The chair fell backwards with him in it. Frank quickly covered himself up, throwing his arms in front of him as the snow piled on top of him.

What was only mere seconds felt like hours to Frank. He was breathless, scared that the house he would be buried in a cabin with no way to get out, or even worse, the house could collapse.

When all the rumbling stopped, he felt a tingling sensation as the snow that covered him melted on his warm skin. His heart stopped for a second. Joe was next to the window.

"Joe?" Frank said, pushing himself up from the snow.

He received no answer.

Frank scrambled up towards where Joe was before the avalanche. He dropped to the ground, digging through the huge mound of snow covering his baby brother.

"Joe, Joe, Joe. You have to be okay. Where are you?" Frank said as he dug until his fingers clawed painful onto something hard.

He drew back his hand quickly, rubbing his finger to warm up and because they now had the tingling sensation you get when you hit something on accident. Quickly forgetting about his fingers, he pushed away the snow, realizing that he had hit the couch that Joe was sleeping on earlier.

"Joe?" Frank said frantically as he dug, trying to push the heavy couch out of the way.

Joe must be either under or near the thing. He had to find Joe or his parents would kill him, but mainly because he would not live it down to know he couldn't protect his younger brother away from their parents for just one day. This was all his fault. He should have given Joe the bed. It was his birthday after all. If Joe had been sleeping on the bed, he wouldn't be buried under the load of snow right now.

After frenetically throwing snow out of the area he was searching in, his finger brushed skin. Joe was under the couch, which made it difficult for Frank to find where to start digging. Frank quickly located where Joe's head was after pushing the couch up a bit. He started brushing the snow away to get a clearer view of Joe's face.

Joe had a long gash on the side of his head that seemed to still be bleeding a little bit, but what scared him the most was that he was unconscious.

"Joe?" Frank said softly, patting his brother's face.

He was afraid he might injure his brother if he pulled him out.

After an agonizing few seconds, Frank heard an explicit groan come from Joe.

Joe moved his head to his left away from Frank's touch.

Frank didn't know what to do. Although Joe and him have been in a jam or two, he never had to deal with Joe being unconscious before.

Come on Frank, think, think, think. What would dad do?

Since he didn't want to move Joe just yet, he kneeled on the floor to scoop arm loads of snow out of the way to set his brother free. Every once and a while, the snow from the window would start flowing in due to him moving the pile out of the way. Finally, after a while of pushing, scooping, and lifting, he got to Joe who was still unconscious in front of him. He had had to lift the heavy wooden couch out of the way before he could get to his brother.

After some long thinking of the dangers of leaving Joe where he was and moving him, Frank decided it was probably best to move Joe out of the way onto the bed. Putting his arms under Joe's neck and knees, he carefully lifted Joe up, hoping he wouldn't drop Joe. Although Joe was very big for being a 14 year old, it's still pretty hard to carry someone when your arms are only so long. Joe was 5'5" in height and he was only 5'10". Okay, so it probably was a significant difference, but with Joe getting into his growing stage of puberty, he was catching up to his size quick.

He had to admit he can be kind of mean sometimes, because he loved making fun of Joe's size on the football field compared to the other guys who outweighed his younger brother by at least 50 pounds, 50 pounds of muscle, but he could always count on Biff who was part of the defense line of the Bayport High football team to watch out for his brother. It was kind of funny that those two became best friends at a young age with Joe being a year younger and puny and Biff a year older and buff. Sometimes he wondered if Joe liked Biff more than him because he seemed to idolize Biff. It wasn't very unnoticeable that him and Joe didn't have many similar interests, but they both agreed they wanted to be just like their father to bring justice to the world and to protect the innocent, all that good stuff. Well for a while now, Biff has been trying to buff Joe up with some vigorous weight lifting and such because Joe's been eyeing that quarterback position on the team, seeing that the current quarterback is graduating this year. Although Joe had always been the little guy seeing that he often hung around his friends, Joe was a feisty little kid who would challenge a guy twice his size with no thought to himself. That was usually where he came in to bust his butt out of trouble, but he remembered a retelling of a story Iola told him about a long whiles ago.

_**Flashback**_

_"Give that back to her!" 7 year old Joseph Hardy said in a challenging manner to the 10 year old._

_Joe had tagged along with Frank to play on the jungle gym with his big brother Frank and Frank's friends Tony, Biff, and Chet who were 8, and Chet's little sister Iola who was 6. Iola had been playing with Joe on the jungle gym area while the other boys were playing a game of soccer. Supposedly, Joe couldn't play because it wasn't even and Iola couldn't play because she was a girl. The two felt a little left out but ended up having a fun time playing in the sand building sand castles with a bucket, shovel, and water from the water fountain until the big blond headed, blue eyed Chuck Murray stole Iola's shovel._

_"Well make me you little pip-squeak." Chuck said, with a huge grin on his face._

_Joe was fuming. NO one calls him pip-squeak or steals stuff from girls who are younger than them. With a burst of anger, Joe lunged for Chuck, catching the bully by surprise. They both landed on the ground hard since Joe did slam into Chuck really hard._

_Chuck was a little stunned, but got back on his feet quickly, strangling Joe in a grip around his body so his arms couldn't move._

_"Let me go you dirty mustard breath!" Joe yelled, struggling to let himself free, and ended up stomping on Chuck's foot._

_Although Chuck was bouncing around holding his foot, his cronies were right near him, quickly twisting Joe's arm behind his back, making Joe cry angry tears at the humiliation._

_"Hey what's going on here?"_

_Joe looked up and saw Iola with Angelo, Tony's older brother in tow in her hand. Angelo was 14 years old, and he guessed Iola was pretty smart to find him._

_"Ummm… nothing. We're just pretend wrestling." Chuck's toe-headed friend said, letting Joe go._

_"It didn't look like any pretend wresting to me." Angelo said with a menacing glare on his face. "If I hear you're messing with my two little buddies here or any little kid again, I'll find you." Angelo said, watching as the three scrambled to run away._

_Angelo didn't like it when people messed with little kids since he did have a younger brother to take care of anyways._

_"Wow Angelo! You were awesome!" Joe said admiringly, taking Angelo's hand as he pulled him onto his feet._

_"Anything for you little buddies. What happened?" Angelo asked._

_Before Joe could say anything, Iola started telling Angelo about how Joe beat up that big, ole bully and how she went to find him._

_Joe started blushing when Iola was saying all the nice things about him. He looked at the ground near him, picking up the plastic shovel._

_"Here Iola." Joe said handing the shovel to her._

_"You're the best Joey!" Iola said with a big smile on her face._

_**End Flashback**_

Well after that event, Iola seemed to admire Joe even more than she liked him before he defended her, and you'd probably know where that went now. They're a happy new couple, but won't be for long if they didn't get out of the jam they're in.

Frank looked up, hearing a groan come from Joe.

"Joe?" Frank said, quickly jumping to his feet.

Joe didn't open his eyes, but he slowly moved his hand up to touch his head.

"Ow, why's my head hurt?" Joe asked all sluggishly, barely able to open his eyes.

"You hit your head dummy." Frank smiled. "Are you okay, you got me worried."

"I think I'll be okay. Just… sleep." Joe said softly, closing his eyes to go back into slumber land.

Frank sighed. What a beginning this vacation had. He just hoped Joe didn't have a serious head injury because they had to get out of the cabin. He also hoped Joe wouldn't freak out when he finds out about the avalanche and they're predicament.

Please, please, please somebody find us!

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Please, Please, Please review and tell me what you think or what you might what that we coudl discuss. Well thanx for reading! 


	3. Chapter 3

"Honey, have you even packed anything for the trip with the boys yet?" Laura Hardy asked as she wrapped her arms around her beloved husband who was currently situated in front of the TV on the couch. "You know you only have 3 days leftmmMmmm…"

Fenton had turned his body forty-five degrees to meet his petite, blond haired wife in a mid-air kiss to stop her worries. He then broke the kiss before pulling his wife over to his side of the couch to embrace her in his arms.

Both of them were breathless by the time they were snuggling on the couch.

"Well I am the master of quick packing."

"Why not pack earlier so you wouldn't have to worry about packing later?" Laura asked as she mindlessly flipped through the channels.

"Well… If I were to pack now, I would have to get up wouldn't I?" Fenton said as he pretended to get up, but Laura pulled him back down to the couch.

"Well as you said, you are the master of quick packing, so let's leave the packing to later."

"Exactly my thoughts dear." Fenton smiled before pulling Laura back into his arms to watch the news.

Their faces turned from content to shock to horror.

"Fenton… The boys!"

"I'm on it Laura." Fenton said as he leapt off the couch.

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"Frank, let me help you dig us out." Joe said with his arms crossed.

His head pounded like no tomorrow, but that didn't disable him physically. Frank was being such a butt about everything.

"I said no 20 minutes ago, I said no 10 minutes ago, I said no 5 minutes ago, and I said no 1 minute ago so you know my answer by now." Frank said gruffly.

He was in no mood to argue with his younger brother. Although outwardly he seemed unreasonable to Joe, inwardly he was struck with worry, worry that they wouldn't be found, worry that Joe was more hurt than he was saying so, worry he would fail their parents on keeping Joe safe. It was just so much pressure that was put on his shoulders, and Joe just didn't seem to understand.

"That's it Frank! Stop ignoring me with this 20 minutes whatever stuff. We're never going to get out if you continue to dig alone because one, you are going to soon get tired, and 2, I'm small so I can fit into a hole and dig way better than you can."

"SHUT UP, okay? SHUT UP!" Frank yelled all of sudden as the room rumbled for a second.

Joe jumped. He'd never seen Frank so raveled. His brother's features didn't lighten any bit seeing the section he was digging was partially filled due to the slight rumble.

He was really hurt that his brother of all people would show such hatred towards him. The worst part was that Frank continued to dig his escape hole instead of saying something to him to explain his outburst.

Joe turned around facing the other side of the wall. He didn't want Frank to know how hurt he was. Instead of sitting still, his anger took his better judgment and he stormed to the window on the other side of the cabin and he begun to dig.

"What are you doing?" Frank asked angrily.

"What do you think I'm doing? You're the smart one." Joe muttered as a huge mound of snow was released into the cabin.

"Be careful before you do something stupid and our cabin gets filled with snow."

"So that's what you think of me huh?" Joe said with resentment that held a hint of how much that statement wounded him.

Frank realized what he said must have sounded like and started walking towards Joe who was stiff and unrelenting.

"Joe, that wasn't what I meant…"

"Then what did you mean? That I'm too stupid to dig a hole? That you're always smarter than me at everything? That every time I try to do something to please Mom and Dad, you always bring home something much bigger for them to be proud of?" Joe started listing off in a hurt voice, and once he started he just couldn't stop the things he's been thinking about for all the years of his life. "That I'm impulsive and you're the person who thinks things through and makes all the right decisions? That Mom and Dad love YOU the most and I'm just the mess up second child in the lime light…" Joe said lastly, and he couldn't say anymore.

Joe took a deep breath and sat with his knees drawn to his chest. He put his head on his arms that were crossed on top of his knees, with his head facing away from Frank because he just couldn't face the embarrassment of what he just said. The second worst thing about his predicament was that his head was pounding mercilessly.

Frank stood shocked. He never knew Joe felt this way. He'd always thought Joe was happy with his life, and he knows Joe is so wrong about how Mom and Dad love him more than Joe.

"Joe…" Frank said as he placed his hand on Joe's elbow.

Joe shoved Frank's hand away, but before Frank took his hand away, he could feel Joe shuddering and his small, continuous hiccups.

He thought through his words carefully before saying anything to his little brother.

"Joe… today must be the crappiest day of my life, but the best would be that I get to spend some time with you, even though we're stuck under I don't know how many feet of snow." Frank was relieved when he heard Joe chuckle a little. "Well… JOE! I was so worried about you today. Everyday I worry about you and you have no idea, because without you, our family would not be so happy, so bright, and we would be so sad to loose what you bring to us. Mom and Dad love us both just the same."

Frank had tears rolling down his face.

"I appreciate how you always try to lighten things up even though everything was so stressful, because you have no idea how stressful it is to be me. We live in such a dangerous situation with Dad being a detective and all. I just have to worry so much for you, for mom, for our friends. If it weren't you, I would have white hair by now."

Joe turned his head around, feeling so low.

"I'm sorry." Joe said in a whisper.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for making you feel like you were dumb or that your ideas don't count." Frank said as he enveloped his brother.

"Frank, thank you." Joe said as he hugged his brother back.

"What do you have to thank me for? I'm your big brother. I would do anything for you."

"Just… thank you for everything Frank and I do appreciate you too, even though I might not show it sometimes."

Joe let go of Frank and moved towards his semi-hole.

"Come on Frank, let's work together and get out of here." Joe said as Frank kneeled next to him to try to claw their way to freedom.

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_**A/N: OKay you might be thinking... boy this chapter sucks, or this is too short, or too many grammer mistakes or... I never wanna read this story ever again! But yah see, I wrote this in 2 hours, and it's the beginning of the next day and I really wanted to update for you people so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! And yah thanks for everyone who are telling me that they have suggestions and stuff, so you can give them in the reviews if you like, but yah I totally have an idea of what to write, I've just been busy, so if you just really really have something you want to suggest then suggest it! THANK YOU!**_

_**Love Always,**_

_**Lgbabyblu **_


	4. Chapter 4

_**AN: Sorry for people who are requesting for Nancy Drew, but I have no clue about her background or anythign about those series so yeah, no point in me writing Nancy Drew, so sorry. And sorry for the wait in update. I tried reading it over to fix the mistakes. If I missed something, sorry in advance. Enjoy:)**_

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"Air!" Frank said relived as his head popped out of the hole that he had dug.

A wide smile was plastered on his face as he looked around his surroundings. He could just make out the pine trees that engulfed their cabin just yesterday, and today he could just see about half the tree from the middle to the top.

A curious look and then a smirk crossed his face. When his dad gets here, boy will he be lost.

Frank carefully used his numb hands to widen the hole a bit and then he rubbed the snow so it would turn into a hard piece of ice. There was no way he wanted to dig that massive hole again. Him and Joe had to dig the hole somewhat slanted so they would be able to climb. It had gotten a little easier once they got something solid to stand on as soon as they reached the roof of the cabin.

After he made sure that their makeshift tunnel wasn't going to collapse on him, he traveled down their long tunnel to get back into the cabin to announce to his brother of their success.

Moving his shoulders around in a slow rotation, Frank stretched his muscles out, feeling the strain of the day and half that they have been stuck in the cabin. Now that he could see their rainbow to freedom, he could let some of his guards down, but they were still a long way to home.

Home. The word brought him such a great longing. He missed his dad, even though his dad was rarely at home, but he was always there whenever Joe and him needed him the most… or at least he tried his hardest when it was just not possible for him to be there. He missed his Aunt Gertrude, even though she could be a nitpicker at times, but she did it because she loved them so much. He missed his friends, and his beautiful blond-haired girlfriend, Callie Shaw, but the person he missed the most was his mom. He missed his mom so much. Although Joe was almost attached to the hip with Mom, he was just as attached. It was just because he was the oldest, so it made more sense that Joe was more attached to Mom while he was with Dad while they were younger.

The word still brought such a longing.

Frank carefully stepped out of the tunnel and entered the cabin, immediately spotting his younger brother curled up in a ball on the couch.

He had the exact same thought in mind. Digging that tunnel had taken a lot out of them, but he didn't want to stay in the cabin any longer. He had no clue how stable their makeshift escape hole was, but he didn't want to find out once it has collapse with them inside it.

Quickly moving to his brother's side, Frank shook Joe's shoulder. His movement caused the couch to squeak.

Joe gave out a small moan of complaint, but didn't wake up.

Frank rolled his eyes. Joe never seemed to wake up when he wants him to.

"Come on Joe… GET UP!" Frank yelled out loud.

He snickered as Joe jumped out of his position and fell onto the floor.

When Joe looked around, still in his sleepy daze, his face turned to a glare when he realized that Frank was laughing at him.

"Ha…ha…ha… very funny…" Joe said sarcastically as he pushed himself back up to sit on the coach.

Giving out a long yawn, Joe rubbed his eyes tiredly, putting his head in his palms.

"Is it my turn to dig yet? Barely seemed like I slept at all." Joe said, looking at Frank suspiciously like he was being duped.

"Well if you call 'FREEDOM' a dupe, than you might as well not know me as Frank Hardy because your big brother doesn't tell a lie when it comes to something like this." Frank said as he saw the slow recognition of shock and then the wide Joe Hardy smile was plastered on his brother's face.

"Are you SERIOUS! We're out!" Joe almost shrieked as he jumped up in excitement. "Come on let's go, LET'S GO!" He said as he grabbed onto Frank's wrist to drag him towards their tunnel.

Frank chuckled, pulling Joe back.

"What are you waiting for, for us to be snowed in again?" Joe said with a hint of fear.

Joe tried to hide the fact that he was a little claustrophobic. Always one to run around and act crazy, being shut off inside four walls was a little too much for him to handle for this long of a period of time.

"No… We just need to get some supplies incase we don't reach the car, and if we do reach the car today, I think you would think it necessary to have the keys to the car." Frank said with a matter of fact tone. "Besides, we have a lot of time to get out. I doubt it is going to collapse on us now."

"Okay..." Joe said skeptically.

All he wanted to do was get out there, and fast.

Frank noticed the way Joe was acting, and he automatically knew why. It could have been brotherly instinct, but then again Joe wasn't the kind of person who hid his emotions well.

"It's okay Joey." Frank said, reverting back to Joe's baby name before Joe decided that he got to old have such a babyish name. "We're going to get out of here out. Just help me get some warm clothes into…."

Frank turned around, spotting what he was looking for.

"…In this backpack, and I'll get us some food and water." Frank said as Joe quickly headed towards their luggage.

Frank bent down with a sigh. If only he could take away the worry, but he couldn't. That was the hardest part about loving somebody.

He picked up a box of protein bars and opened the box, pouring the bars into his backpack. Pulling out a few more other easy to eat food items and eight bottles of water, he zipped the bag up, putting the straps on his shoulders.

Before he got up, he grabbed a few Quaker chocolate chip chewy bars and 2 bottles of water.

"Here, eat and drink this so we don't' have to carry more up." Frank said, handing Joe the Quaker bar first.

Joe was in the middle of zipping up his winter coat, but he took the Quaker bar anyways.

"I'm not very hungry, but I guess I understand your point." Joe said, opening the wrapper on his bar.

He used to like these things, but right now, everything sort of tastes like sawdust. His head was pounding but it wasn't like he was going to tell Frank. Frank would start worrying, and they'll never get out if Frank was going to mother him about something that could be handled once they went home to some aspirin.

The two ate in silence until Joe broke the silence.

"You think that Mom and Dad know that there was an avalanche?" Joe asked out of curiosity.

"I don't know, maybe. You know Dad. He always researches stuff before he goes anywhere."

"Well what if we start leaving and Dad starts coming, and he finds the cabin is gone?"

"Well then we'll just have to call him once we get in range or once we reach a phone."

"Well what if it's too late?"

"Then we have to pass him to get out if he's coming in."

"What if he chooses another route or doesn't follow the route at all. You know, there are terrain cars and stuff."

Frank felt like there was a pulsing vein coming out of his forehead.

"Well…" Frank said with his teeth grinding together to hold his anger back. "Then we'll just wait for him to come home."

"Well what if…"

"Stop with the WHAT Ifs!" Frank shouted in irritation.

It was just too early… or late? And he was too tired to have to put up with his younger brother.

"Just asking." Joe said with a smirk.

He didn't know why but it was kind of fun to rile up his uptight brother. He wasn't stupid, Dad was probably not coming for a while and he probably didn't even hear about the avalanche. They would be long gone at home by that time.

Frank pounced on his brother when he realized he was being suckered.

"Why you little brat!" Frank said with Joe in a headlock.

"Let go of me!" Joe yelled with a laugh. "UNCLE! UNCLE! UNCLE!"

"There's no uncle here to save you." Frank said with a smirk on his face.

He gave Joe a noogie on the head, but stopped when Joe protested in pain.

"Shoot, I am so sorry. Are you okay?" Frank said in concern.

He wasn't sure what to do, and was afraid to touch Joe.

"It's okay." Joe said, lightly rubbing his head while his face scrunched up. "You just sorta touched the bruise on my head."

"Do you need some aspirin?" Frank asked, automatically unzipping his backpack to grab his first aid kit.

"Yeah, probably. Man, my head felt like someone was screaming non-stop in it since I don't know…" Joe said but stopped as he realized what he had just said. "I mean… since you touched my bruise!"

Frank had one eye-brow raised, and then his face turned into anger that concealed his concern.

"You mean your head has been hurting and you still egged me to let me let you dig the tunnel?" Frank said with disbelief, but then again that was something his brother would do.

Joe gave a small smile with a shrug.

Frank rolled his eyes, giving Joe two pills which Joe quickly swallowed. Thinking it was better to get out of the cabin before he should yell at his younger brother's foolishness, he held his anger in to Joe's amazement.

"Are you out now? We should better get going before our tunnel collapses or something." Frank said which sparked a hint of fear in Joe.

"Yeah, let's go." Joe said as he put his backpack on that held some extra clothes and blankets.

"You go first okay."

"Why? So whatever is out there can eat me up first?" Joe said for laughs.

"Absolutely, your big brother is so set on saving his own butt to risk his younger brother's life like that." Frank laughed.

Truthfully, Frank knew that Joe was scared of being in the cabin any longer and knew it probably made Joe feel better to get out as soon as possible.

"Well why me?" Joe asked as he starred to climb.

The bantering was helping to ease his fear of being in closed, unstable areas such as the tunnel. He wanted to get out of there fast and his legs were working at their fastest without accidentally causing a cave in.

"Well brother of mine, you see, you are smaller than I and if I was to fall accidentally, then I would feel better to know you aren't under me." Frank said as he grunted to pull himself up a steep part of the tunnel.

"Well…grunt… I guess that makes sense because I don't think I wanna be smelling your behind." Joe said as Frank grabbed a handful of loose snow and threw it at Joe.

"Hey!" Joe complained as he stepped onto a turn that led them to the top of the roof. "Frank! I see light! We're almost out!" He said excitedly.

Joe heard Frank snigger at him but he didn't care. He was almost out, and he could hardly wait to breathe in the fresh, cold, mountain air.

He sped up his climbing speed and was leaving Frank way back behind him.

"Hey! Wait up kiddo." Frank said out of breath.

He was still dead tired from digging and climbing before having to climb again.

Joe didn't even hear what Frank said or if he did, he didn't acknowledge it because just 5 feet away from him was full of no limitations or restrictions.

When Joe put his hand onto the solid ground above his head, he couldn't help yelling out, "Freedom!"

Without warning, Joe felt pressure being put on his hand.

"Are you so sure about that?" An unknown voice said above him.

Unexpectedly, Joe was dragged up out of the hole by his collar, and before he could do anything about it, Joe heard a small explosion as the tunnel collapsed on itself.

Joe gasped in shock as his face paled at the sight in front of him. He didn't even acknowledge the fact that the person responsible for their plight was right beside him. The only thing he could see was the hole being filled up with his brother in it.

As the shock settled in, Joe desperately clawed at the ground beneath him.

"NO! FRANK!"

* * *

_**AN: Thanks a lot for reading my story, and some honest opinions would be much abliged :) (hehehe, I heard that world in some book. Always wanted to use it). Well hoping for some reviews because...:**_

_**REVIEW Happy**_

_**Happy Updates!**_

_** And if you really can't review after you read, you can always come back and review because that would be AWESOME! I don't mind flame as long as its constructive crticism. :) Thank you again. **_

_** Love Always,**_

_**Lgbabyblu **_


	5. Chapter 5

**_A/N: I don't know if anyone still wants to read this but I don't know, I just felt like writing another chapter of this story. Thanks for reading :)_**

* * *

"FRANK!" Joe yelled out in a hoarse voice. 

Joe didn't know what to do. All he could rationalize was to dig, and dig fast or his big brother would die.

His heart palpitated with worry as he frantically tried to figure out what to do. He was so absorbed in his digging that once the butt of a rifle slammed itself into the back of his head, he didn't even realize himself falling face fire into the snow with his life still in danger.

Frank smiled at his brother's antics, but his smile turned to confusion as his brother somehow flew out of the hole and an explosion followed.

He quickly rolled himself into a ball, remembering to cover his head tightly as a load of snow blasted towards him.

The snow felt like shards of glass than a hardened form of water as large, pebbled sized snow clods burned across his hands.

"Shit." Frank said to no one in particular as he tried to shake the snow out of his clothes once the rumbling stopped.

He looked around the tunnel that him and Joe built and saw that not much damage was done. He could still see down the tunnel, although it was a bit clogged in certain areas, and on further inspection, the packing down of the tunnel walls that Joe and him did stayed pretty much intact. If he just dug into the tunnel above him, the loose snow easily fell away from the tunnel.

"Come on…" Frank said in an irritated voice as he tried to pry his gloved hand into the snow.

He took off his glove before plunging his fingers into the soft but chilling powdery ice that showered down upon him once he started clawing at it.

"At least Joe is out. Lucky son of a gun…." Frank grunted as he tried to pry a big piece from the clog.

It didn't take Frank long to get into a steady speed of swiping at the snow because the rumble only created a clog of loose snow. The chunks and pieces fell easily down the tunnel that they built and before long, Frank's limited feelings in his fingers felt nothing but air.

* * *

"You found anything yet?" Biff yelled across the field of whiteness as he stabbed his pole into the ground again. 

Fenton as well as a group of Frank and Joe's friends had arrived a few hours ago at the area that Joe and Frank were supposed to be at. When Fenton had asked for help from a few family friends, all of Frank and Joe's friends wanted to come along, but in the end, it was settled that Iola and Callie were to stay with Laura at home to see if the boys came out okay and somehow made it home or called, and Biff, Phil, Chet and Tony were to fly with Fenton to the site to try to find Joe and Frank.

"Nope, nothing yet." Tony said disappointingly.

"I wish were could do more then stick these poles into the ground." Chet said glumly as he slowly made his way towards Biff and Tony in his heavy snow boots.

"Well there is a chance that the avalanche happened while they were skiing and snowboarding." Tony said as he stabbed his pole into the ground again and coming up empty. "Besides, it's better than waiting at the ranger's station for that bulldozer to come to move the snow."

"Guys! Come over here!" Phil yelled from across the ice field.

Chet, Biff and Tony turned towards Phil and started running his way as fast as the snow would allow them. When they reached the area where Phil was pointing at, they were all shocked at what they saw.

"Do you think it's them?" Chet asked with wide eyes as he stared at the footprints.

"I don't know. I see one set of prints and one like… if someone was dragged." Phil said.

With the few times that the boys have accompanied their detective friends on cases, they have picked up a few things here and there such as strange marks or identifiable prints.

"It looks sort of fresh… I think?" Chet said unsure. "It's pretty deep and you can follow it."

All of them could see that the tracks would lead them deep into the woods, but that was an area where they weren't allowed to wander to. They were specifically told to stay in the area that they were in, and in the open.

"I don't understand, Frank and Joe would never walk into the woods. That's no where near where they parked their car." Phil mumbled as he ran things over in his mind.

Nothing seemed to make sense. If Frank and Joe headed deeper into the woods, they would have gotten lost.

"Maybe they were confused… or hurt!" Tony said worriedly.

"Guys…."

"Frank and Joe are smart… they should be okay. I hope…" Phil said.

"Guys…." Chet stuttered as he starting pointing Biff in the arm.

"What?" Biff said angrily as he turned around but he froze as he saw what Chet was pointing at.

It was an arm waving out of the ground.

Biff ran towards the arm and quickly grabbed hold of the arm.

"Who's down there? Are you hurt?" Biff asked as the arm held onto his hand.

Biff was scared that if he tried to pull the person out, he could further injured them if they were hurt.

"Biff?" A muffled voice called out from under the snow.

"Frank!" Tony yelled out happily as he dropped down to his knees to dig the rest of the snow out of the way to reveal a teeth-chattering Frank in a very long tunnel.

"Frank, are you hurt?" Biff asked as he and Tony helped to haul Frank out of the hole.

"Not that I know of." Frank said as he shook snow from his hair. "Where's Joe?" He said as he looked around but catching no sight of his brother.

"What do you mean?" Biff said confused. "Isn't he with you?"

* * *

**_A/N: Thanks for reading :) I hope you review with some constructive critism, and besides, if I see reviews, I will be more motivated to update because I will know people still wants to read it! Thanks again, and remember, you can flame my story all you want as long as you have a reason._**

**_Love,_**

**_Lgbabyblu_**


	6. Chapter 6

**_Hello wonderful readers! I was really not going to update anymore, but after receiving soooo many regular reviews, I decided to start writing again. This chapter is a little... I don't know? Not as good... at least to me. I kind of forgot how to write stories since its been years XD Anyways, enjoy and remember to send me some constructive criticism, and thank you for the support, even after I semi-quit already._**

**_-Lgbabyblu_**

* * *

Frank froze in shock as he stared at Biff's dumbfounded face.

"Joe's not with me." Frank exclaimed as he clambered out of the hole with the assistance of Biff.

"What do you mean he's not with you?" Fenton said worriedly as he reached out of grab Frank's tense arm.

Fenton was beginning to feel a pit falling feeling, deep within his stomach as Franks eyes showed obvious confusion about the whereabouts of his younger brother.

Biff, Phil, Chet and Tony gathered around Frank and Fenton to try to understand what had happened.

"I don't know –" Frank said frantically as he subconsciously started looking around for Joe, scanning the surrounding forest to see if he could find that Joe was just fooling him and hiding somewhere, ready to yell _BOO_. "Joe was ahead of me when he dug ourselves out of the cabin, but just as I was about to get out, there was a small explosion and I had to dig myself out." Frank explained as he flexed and tensed his fingers in fists out of worry and that his fingers were still frozen from the digging.

Where could he have gone? How could he have ever expected something like this to happen? Joe was supposed to be out and safe. Where else could he have gone? Frank felt it was his fault. This trip was supposed to be a fun trip for the brothers to bond, and he was supposed to protect Joe. Now Joe was missing.

Frank started to pace constantly in mini circle, the lines on his face scrunched up in concentration of apprehension and thought. Not even the cold shivers that went down his spine distracted him from the thought that his brother was missing and there must have been a very horrible reason for why.

"The footprints!" Phil exclaimed as he pointed at the trail that he had found earlier. "Those were the only other prints other than ours that were in this area before we came."

The whole group automatically rallied to the footprints that seemed to approxiamately start from the hole that Frank had just climbed out of.

"Did you see anybody when you found these footprints?" Frank asked as he stared at Phil with hopeful eyes.

"No, but I am sure that this trail has got to lead to Joe." Phil exclaimed. "Logically, it makes sense. Nobody else could have randomly walked here, and walked back with something or someone." He said as he pointed at the prints that showed a set of prints walking towards the hole and then walking back into the woods with something that was dragged.

In his gut, Frank knew Phil was probably right. For a high school student, Phil was very intuitive and wise, probably smarter than Frank himself when it came to problem solving. That was when Frank noticed something on the ground.

Frank walked along the trail and dropped down on his knees and scooped up a handful of snow.

Everyone's eyes widen. In Frank's hand was a pink substance, miniscule in amount, but enough to make everyone look at each other with concern for the youngest Hardy.

"Boys, we have to make a plan, now that we know Joe might be in serious danger." Fenton said as he directed the boys out of worry, and out of detective instinct. He knew that if he didn't work now, the trail would be obsolete, and the only clue to finding Joe would disappear. "Tony, Phil… I want you to stay here and wait to see if Joe comes back. If he does he might need help." He said as he pointed to the two boys who nodded. "Frank, Chet… I want you two to go back to the cars and see if Joe might have wandered back there." Fenton said and he pointed towards the woods.

"No Dad!" Frank cried out in anger at having to go back. "I can't go back to the car with Joe missing!"

Frank stood his ground, staring at his dad in disbelief that his father wanted him to retreat while Joe might be in terrible danger.

"Frank. I understand how you are feeling, but you have been trapped underground for hours and frozen to death." Fenton said in a fatherly, yet authoritive way. "Biff and I will follow the trail and find Joe. You and Tony have to go back to the car and get warmed up…"

"But Dad!" Frank exclaimed in protest, but Fenton stopped him.

"I want you two to call for Sam and Sergeant Con Riley to get here. We might need back-up." Fenton said, torn between a missing son and an angry son. "Chet, make sure Frank gets to the cars and gets warmed up. I don't need two sons in danger right now."

"No problem sir." Chet said sadly, but affirmatively, not wanting to come between a father and his best friend.

"Boys, we need all of your cooperation if we want to get Joe back, so are we all clear?" Fenton asked.

Everyone nodded their heads, with Frank crossed armed, but compliant.

"Okay, let's go." Fenton said, hoping to and praying that his youngest son will be found quickly and uninjured, as he walked into the forest after a trail that might lead to an unwanted sight.

"_Please Joe, be all right." _Fenton thought. _"Please, please be all right. I will find you."_

* * *

Joe groaned. He felt really cold and disoriented because when he came to, he was moving on his back. Nothing made sense because the back of his head hurt, but felt rather cold and numb, and those feelings enough made him feel very confused.

"Finally awake I see," said a voice that sounded unfriendly and unfamiliar.

Joe automatically flipped his whole body around to his front, kicking his foot away from the grasp of the stranger, and opening his eyes, facing the stranger.

The whole motion made him feel dizzy, but he shook it off. He knew that he was in danger, and he couldn't let momentary dizziness make him more vulnerable then he already was.

Who Joe saw didn't comfort him anymore. The man who stood in front of him looked about in his forties. He was quite tall and built, and had long, bushy hair. He was noticeably filthy, with worn out snow clothes. The scowl on the stranger's face didn't help his look, and it just intensified the angry scar that was on the man's face.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" Joe asked forcefully.

Joe's eyes then widened as he noticed someone was clearly missing.

"Where's my brother!" Joe yelled frantically as he tried looking around.

He then remembered the tunnel and the explosion before he blacked out.

The man in front of him just laughed.

"Let's just say there was a small accident, and your brother won't be above ground for a while," the stranger said, which made Joe furrow his brow in anger and shock.

"If you hurt my brother, I am going to…" Joe started to say angrily before he was cut off.

"Going to… going to….Stt… sttt. Sttt… what?" The man laughed as he mockingly stuttered to make fun of the blond boy.

Joe was scared, but he didn't want the man to know this, so he tried to act as assertive as he could to find the fact that he was shaking like a child inwardly.

"Who are you?" Joe asked, still glaring at the man as he griped a handful of snow in anger, not knowing what else to do with his hands.

The man laughed in a scornful way, like it was a stupid for Joe to not know who he was and for even trying to threaten him.

"You don't know?" The man scoffed. "Your father put me in jail seven years ago after paralyzing my son, and putting him in jail also," he said angrily. "Now your welfare is your Daddy's choice, but you're surely not going to be returned to your father without my son and without payback for my son's physical conditions."

Joe got more scared when he heard why he was there, but he was never going to give the man the satisfaction of knowing that the stranger intimidated him.

Joe made a move to jump to his feet to make a run for it, but the sound of the cock of a gun made him stop.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the stranger said as he shifted his stance as if a cowboy were to stand, chewing slightly on his own teeth.

Making a stupid move right now wasn't the smartest thing to do, and Joe would just have to wait for the perfect time to outsmart the deranged man and get the hell out of the situation.

The next thing he knew, the stranger grabbed his neck, shoving the hard gun into the lower part of back, making him flinch.

Joe grimaced due to the uncomfortable position he was in, especially because the man was poking the gun hard into his back to make him move forward.

"You play nice and I'll make sure you won't be harmed…. Yet," the man said as he laughed at his own joke, "… but if you make any sudden movements, I can't reassure you that my finger won't make any sudden movements that would cause a very loud SPCHOO sound," he said, which made Joe cringe.

How was he going to get out of this?

"_Frank… Dad… Help….."_ Joe thought as he trudged forward, not knowing what the man was going to do to him, and if there was even a future to have a hold of.

* * *

_**Again, very sorry everyone :( Long time no update. I haven't really felt like writing much and it was very hard to get started. I wrote this all in one night because I was soooooo bored, and I really wanted to get this chapter out there. I tried to correct as many mistakes as possible :P But eh... probably missed some.**_

_**  
Please give me some constructive criticism. I don't mind if you all yell at me for not writing a chapter in 2 years, but I expect it :(**_

_**Thank you again for the constant support, and hope you all enjoyed this story.**_

_**-Lgbabyblu**_

** P.S. I am going to try very, very, very hard to get you all another chapter by tomorrow... if not, then tomorrow's tomorrow. I feel bad not updating for so long, and everyone has been so great :( Sorry again. I'll try to finish my stories this summer :)**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Hello again! I got some criticism, and I tried to write more about people other than Joe this time XD. See... Reviews DO do something. Anyways, another chapter as I promised. Enjoy!**_

_**-Lgbabyblu**_

* * *

Frank and Chet had been walking back towards the car for about fifteen minutes. The whole fifteen minutes was less than silent since the eldest Hardy brother was throwing a fit with his mouth about having to retreat back to the car instead of being able to follow his father to find Joe.

"How could he just make me walk back to the car?" Frank exclaimed angrily as he trudged back to the car, kicking at the snow every few steps with frustration and anger.

"Uh huh." Chet said as he starred at the ground, not knowing what else to say to his distressed friend given that Frank had been venting for the past fifteen minutes since they had been assigned to go back and call for help.

"Joe could be hurt…"

"Uh huh."

"He could be scared…"

"Uh huh."

"We need to go find him!"

Frank was suddenly filled with renewed hope as the sudden feeling erupted from his stomach to his heart. He knew he had to do this.

"Uh hu….Wha?" Chet said in surprise as he turned to Frank, flabbergasted at what his friend was proposing. "We can't just wander into the woods without a clue of where we are going, and your father told us to go back to the car – " he was saying quickly in alarm until Frank cut him off.

"We can't just leave Joe out there by himself." Frank said angrily. "Besides, we can just call Con and Sam right here. It's not like we don't have a signal, and I'm fine. Sitting in a car waiting for help isn't going to help anybody." He said as he turned abruptly and headed towards the direction that they came from.

"But…" Chet said flustered as he followed his friend.

Chet was beginning to get a headache from Frank. He was quickly becoming flustered as his cheeks flushed red hot, and his head became very numb, trying to figure out what to do with his very worried and not logically thinking friend.

"Look, if we go this way, we could probably get to Joe faster." Frank said as he measured out where the trail was and where they had approxiamately started.

"But…" Chet tried again, but was again cut-off.

"We would probably get there before Dad does by just going around, and up that little hill, and heck… we might be able to see pretty far if we climb up that thing and scout around." Frank said excitedly as he ran towards a small, rocky hill with a summit on their right that overlooked the forest.

"FRANK!" Chet yelled out crossly at his best friend, running up and grabbing his arm before he started to rock climb the slippery, rocky, and dangerous looking hill towards the summit.

"WHAT?" Frank shouted back, just as irritable as Chet as he flung his arm out of Chet's grasp.

"This is dangerous! What do you think you can accomplish by doing this? Getting yourself killed?" Chet said, trying to reason with Frank. "You are thinking irrationally, and as your BEST friend, I need to stop you before you do something stupid!" Chet said as he stared intently into Frank's eyes, trying to get Frank to think more clearly about his proposal of climbing the hill, but Frank just looked even angrier.

Frank didn't understand how his best friend who was Joe's friend also would rather retreat than find Joe. His gut was telling him that was the only option, to go and find Joe or he might as well be the worst older brother ever. He would never have the face to face Joe again if he didn't at least try… if they could even find him.

"_Frank… Snap OUT OF IT!" _Frank thought as he mentally slapped himself for ever thinking that his brother could be lost forever or dead.

"CHET! He is my brother!" Frank shouted as he squinted his eyes into enraged slits. "You don't understand what it's like to have someone you love missing like this." Frank said as his voice lowered into a cry. "I just need to know he's okay because he's my younger brother, and I need to protect him." He said as his shoulders sagged.

Chet held onto both his shoulders, forcing Frank to look at him.

"I know what it's like to be worrying about a loved one. I have a younger sister too, and I know exactly what you mean." Chet said as he softened his voice. "I lost Iola once before, and it scared the shit out of me, and if it weren't for you, Joe and your dad's help, I might have lost her." He said as he started to remember the eventful day 6 years ago.

_**Flashback**_

_Iola was eight years old and Chet was ten. _

"_Come on Iola…" Chet said somewhat annoyed as his younger sister seemed to be walking two steps per hour. "We're going to be late for the ball game if you just keep looking at stupid, girlie things." He said as he pointed wildly at the flowers and butterflies that his sister seemed to be entranced by._

_That evening, Chet was supposed to be going to the park to play baseball in the ballpark that was situated on the far corner of the big park. It was summer, therefore playing at night under the florescent lights that surrounding the ballpark was a lot cooler than trying to play during the day. _

_Although the event was supposed to be just the guys, Iola insisted on tagging along, even though there weren't going to be any other girls there, and the only one close to her age was Joe, but Joe was also going to be playing ball with the guys._

_Unfortunately, his parents made him bring Iola along since she started crying, and sadly for Chet, the youngest Morton always gets what she wants because Iola was a girl._

"_Hurry up will yah?" Chet said impatiently as he grabbed his sister's hand to pull her along faster across the park trail towards the ballpark._

"_Ow…" Iola complained as she trudged along after Chet. "You don't have to pull so hard. You're mean." Iola pouted as she withdrew from Chet's hold on her wrist, just as they arrived outside the ballpark._

"_Hey Chet!" Frank yelled out from within the park to his best friend. "Hurry up! We're picking teams!" He yelled out, waving his friend over._

_Chet looked at Frank and looked back at his sister, not sure of what to do with Iola._

"_Okay! I'll be there in a sec!" Chet called back to Frank and the guys before turning to Iola. "You sit in the bleachers okay?" He said, pushing Iola towards the stands before running to his friends._

_Iola on the other hand started to walk towards the bleachers but something caught her eye. She spotted a stray puppy that was hiding behind some of the trees just outside of the ballpark._

"_Hello doggy." Iola said as she walked towards the animal who was shyly whimpering and hiding behind some trees._

_Iola started wondering where the animal had come from and felt rather sad for the dog, therefore she took steps closer, trying to reach the dog. _

"_Well hello." Iola said as she reached within distance to get the dog, but then suddenly, a man popped out from behind the tree, momentarily shocking her._

_Iola gasped, taking a step back from the man. _

"_Hello." The man said with a friendly, but sneaky face. "Do you know whose dog this is?" He asked as Iola shook her head for a no. _

_The man shifted his stance, walking closer to Iola, but trying to keep as friendly as possible._

"_I just found this dog and he seems lost and confused." The man said as he petted the dog._

"_What happened to him?" Iola asked curiously as she walked closer to the dog._

"_I have no idea, but I want to bring him to a doctor and get him checked, but I can't seem to get him to my car. Will you help me?" The man asked, waving Iola over._

"_Okay." Iola said with a smile as she walked over to pet the dog._

_Iola thought the man seemed pretty friendly and she definitely thought the dog needed help, and living in a farm environment for so long, she took very much care when it came to animals._

"_What's your name?" The man asked as he started to walk with the dog and Iola towards the parking lot of the park where a lonely van sat._

"_Iola." Iola said as she smiled up at him with a huge grin, happily petting the dog._

"_Nice to meet you Iola. My name in Steve." Steve said as he walked towards the van and opened the sliding door of the van._

_The van had no seats inside of it and it was very empty and dark. _

_Iola looked inside, wondering how the dog was supposedly to be safely seat-belted into the car if there weren't any seats in the back._

"_Come on, help me get this doggy into my car." Steve said as he grabbed Iola's arm with a firm grip._

_Iola stared at him with wide eyes, and started to get very nervous._

"_Umm… I'm not supposed to go into cars with strangers." Iola said as she tried to pull her arm back, but the man had a very strong hold onto her arm._

"_It's okay, I'm not a stranger. You already know my name." Steve said with a grunt as he lifted Iola up to try to dump her into the van, but Iola was putting up a fight._

"_Let me go!"Iola screamed as she bit the man's arm. _

_That was enough for the man to yell out and drop Iola, who immediately broke into a run, but the man was too fast and grabbed her shirt._

_Iola started screaming at the top of her lungs, but the man put his dirty, grimy hand over her mouth, suffocating her screams._

"_IOLA!" Chet yelled out as he spotted his sister, after frantically trying to search for her when he realized 5 minutes into the game that she was missing. "Let go of her!" He shouted as Chet ran towards the assailant._

"_Cheee..mmmm." Iola tried to yell out as she got thrown into the van._

_Frank ran alongside Chet with a bat, but by the time they reached the car, the man had already closed the van's door and gotten into the driver's seat. Before the man drove off with the van, he was able to swing his bat and break the tail-light as the car sped off._

"_FRANK!" Joe called out as he held onto his cell phone. "I called Dad. He's on the phone right now." He said as he held out the phone to him. _

_The Hardy boys had always been taught that if there was any trouble, they had to immediately call their parents, and that was what Joe did when he realized Iola was missing._

"_He wants to talk to you right now." Joe said as he handed the phone to Frank._

_Frank took the phone and put it to his ear to hear a Rrrooming sound and his Dad's comforting voice._

"_Franky?" Fenton said into the phone as he made a U-turn, as he was still near the park since he had dropped Frank and Joe there not long ago._

"_Dad! A man took Iola!" Frank said as he looked at his distraught friend who sat on the ground with tears in his eyes, completely angry at himself for letting someone take his sister. _

"_I know, Joey told me." Fenton said on the phone. "Do you know what car it is? I am really close by. I might be able to find him." _

"_Ummm… The car was… a BLACK VAN!" Frank said as he remembered quickly. "It's the kind with the sliding doors, and he turned left when he left that parking lot you dropped us off at." He said as he tried his best to remember what had happened._

"_Okay Frank. Call 911 right now and tell them exactly what you told me. I'm going to try my best to find that van so we don't lose them." Fenton said as he was about to hang up the phone._

"_WAIT!" Frank yelled into the phone before his Dad was about to hang up. "I broke his left tail-light!" He had as he just remembered. "I broke it with a bat. I hope that helps." Frank said as a rushing feeling gave him tingles around his body._

"_Thanks Frank. I'll find the man who took Iola. For now, call 911." Fenton said again before hanging up on Frank._

_Not long into the chase, Fenton had found the black van with the dented tail-light. The police came soon after as they kept with constant contact with Fenton through a cell phone with the speakers on during the chase. The chase seemed very long, but it was fairly short as Fenton tail-gated the van, and the police cornered the van into an alley way. The man had made a wrong move, and that one mistake was all it took for the police to corner him, but afterwards, it was all on foot as the man broke for a run, but the police officers quickly got out of the car and had pounced on the man with handcuffs. _

_Iola on the other hand was slightly bruised from the mishandling, but mainly she was very shook up about the ordeal, and had quickly jumped into Fenton's arms once she realized who he was. _

_When Chet and Iola were finally reunited, Chet had promised to himself that he would never let anyone hurt Iola again, and he was going to be a much better older brother from then on._

_**End Flashback**_

When Chet remembered that day, it made him shiver with the thought that his sister could have really been hurt worse or dead if it weren't for Joe, Frank and their Dad's quick thinking and actions.

"Okay." Chet said as he walked towards the hill and made a move to climb it towards the first flat platform that was 20 feet above them.

"Wha?" Frank said shockingly as he looked at Chet with shame in his eyes that had poured with tears.

"Come on. Joe needs us." Chet said, and that was all the reason for the both of them to start climbing the steep hill for the hope of finding a clue of where the youngest Hardy was.

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_**Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I think I'm starting to remember how to write a chapter again :P This one was less hard than last time. **_

_**If you don't like something or I'm doing something wrong, feel free to give some constructive criticism :D Makes me feel bad, but then again, it helps me give all my readers what they want to read.**_

_**I'll try my best to update soon. Maybe... very soon, maybe next week, but no longer than next week. Depends on my free time. Anyways, Hope you enjoyed this chapter and remember to review :) I like reading them, even if it is only like... 3 words of encouragement.**_

_**Thank You again :D**_

_**-Lgbabyblu**_


	8. Chapter 8

**_Soo... Sorry it's so short and that I haven't updated in a long time, but I have school you see, and since I'm in college, everything just comes at us week to week. I'm finally on break for about a week and a half. I'm gonna try my hardest to update within this time. I've had this chapter for the longest time half written, but I didn't have time to continue. I know it's less than half of what I normally write, but I didn't want to leave you guys hanging any longer. VERY SORRY again, and hope you enjoy this for now._**

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Joe groaned inwardly as he was forced to continue his trek towards a never ending hike towards nowhere.

Every step felt like an eternity because his body was starting to feel the extent of the physical exertion he was straining on his body. It eventually became an effort just to lift one leg out of the snow and move forward, and his physical condition wasn't helping him much.

Joe's head was pounding in sync with his heart, and the more he stressed his body, the harder his head throbbed.

His stomach wasn't helping the tirade of throbs since his stomach was in a midst of conflict over being hungry and nausea. His midsection was telling him he was hungry, but every time the thought of food came to his mind, a rush feeling of bile seemed to eventually make food sound like the most repelling substance on earth.

Mainly, he just wanted to get warm. Joe wanted to stop walking, and let his muscles melt into some warmth, but the pistol wedged between him and the madman, with the deadly end drilling into his back made him move for the sake of his life, and the hope that help would be near.

Joe withdrew into his mind, using all his energy to keep moving.

_Left…. Right….. Left….. Right… _

While withdrawn in mind for the reason of willpower, Joe was suddenly snapped out of his tempo when he was suddenly pushed forward and dragged behind a large boulder.

"Say one word, or make one move and you will sourly regret it." Steve said menacingly as he grabbed a knotted load of rope from the pack he was carrying and tied Joe's arms behind him.

Joe was disoriented because Steve moved much more smoothly and quickly than the age he appeared to be, hurriedly bounding Joe's wrists together, and the sudden foul taste of garbage nearly made Joe throw up as a tainted handkerchief was shoved into Joe's mouth.

With the grace of a wrestler, Joe was lifted off the ground and between a large bush and the boulder, hidden from plain sight.

Before the madman left though, Joe felt a warm, hissing breath on his ear, taunting him.

"You do anything… I mean anything stupid… and you will be pleasantly surprised at how good my aim is." Steve said threateningly, lifting open his jacket fort Joe to see that the madman had more than one gun.

Joe's eyes never stopped glaring, at least he hoped, because he felt very scared, but he would rather not show it.

When Steve finally left him alone in the bushes, Joe breathed a sigh of relief because the man's empty eyes brought chills to his being, and just being able to sit down brought relief to his whole body. The only problem was that he can't have relief. He had to get out of there, and fast.

* * *

If it were any other situation, Frank would've loved being in the mountains. The fresh smell of pine against his nose, and the icy, breathtaking air that felt like he was chewing a fresh piece of spearmint gum, but one that lasted for more than a mere 10 minutes.

" Frank. Look." Chet said, snapping Frank out of his train of thought. "We've reached the top and I think I see some movement down there."

Both boys crouched down until all that could be seen was their heads. They peered over the ledge they were on, both looking at each other once they realized that they had reached their goal.

From the distance, both boys could see two figures walking towards a single figure.

"We have to get down there, but we can't be spotted." Frank said softly to Chet with fire in his eyes.

The wind picked up, whipping the two with loose dirt and pine needles.

"How are we going to do this? We're above them, and once we get up from the ledge, we're pretty much in the open." Chet gathered as he peered down at the figures below them, but noticed something strange. His brow furrowed as he watched the two figures get closer to the single figure. "Frank?"

"Yeah?" Frank said as he kept looking forward, but was obviously moving forward to find a safe route down from where they stood.

"Those two figures are obviously your dad and Biff, but if that's the guy who might have taken Joe, where is Joe?" Chet asked as he squinted to see clearer, considering that the figures were some distance away. Their clothes were visible, but their faces for hard to distinguish.

"That is very odd." Frank said as he also looked to see why there was a lone figure, but no Joe.

The figures were getting closer and closer, and the more closer they got, Frank started to feel an irking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"We have to get down there now." Frank said as he unceremoniously rushed and fell to a roll down a part of the incline.

"Frank!" Chet said in alarm as he rushed towards Frank with a little more caution.

"I'm alright." Frank said as he brushed the snow out of his hair, but the feeling was still there, spreading towards his heart, gripping it with vengeance. "We have to get down there. I don't know why, but this is just too strange that there is a lone guy standing there waiting for Dad and Biff to reach him.

"Oo..Okay." Chet said, still very worried about the way Frank was acting. Normally, Frank was right, and Frank's intuitions might sound weird, but Chet trusted Frank.

Together, they hastily slid down the slope, a little more careful to avoid slipping, because every second counted.

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_**Yeah... Like I said, too short :( I'll try to update by... tomorrow? Hopefully... I kinda have a semi-job too for my short break :P I'll try my hardest to update. For my avid readers, very sorry, and you can yell at me in the reviews XD I really don't care. I deserve it after my last promise. Bye and really!! I'll start on Chapter 9 tonight and get it out very soon.**_

_**Love,**_

_**Lgbabyblu**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Author's Note: How very annoying :( 3rd time I'm typing my author's note due to inconveniences that are so very bothersome. Anyways, like i promised, another chapter, hope you enjoy :D**_

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"Hello!" A man yelled, waving his hand enthusiastically and with a very friendly smile.

Fenton and Biff took a short break from their long trudge up the small incline and huffed, trying to catch their breaths. Although it wasn't much of a slope, the snow was like suction to their boots, making them use twice the energy necessary to walk on normal, hard packed ground.

When Fenton and Biff heard the voice calling to them, they looked into the distance at the waving man and then looked at each other, mutually understanding that this man could not be trusted.

"Hello. Who may I ask are you?" Fenton asked, sounding calm but dominant as he walked closer to the man, but his whole body was ready and cautious if anything were to happen.

"I'm very lost out here." The man said with a chuckle, hitting his head with an expression that showed how dumb he was for being lost. "I've been walking around in circles trying to find where my cabin is."

"What direction did you come from?" Fenton asked, trying to make small talk, but he obviously knew that this man could be trouble.

"I'm not sure, that's why I'm lost." The man chuckled again. He then shook his head and pulled off his glove. "Oh pardon my manners, my name is Steve," he said while shoving his hand out to shake Fenton and Biff's hand.

"Yeah…" Biff said with one brow rose as he looked at Fenton, not sure of what to do. "Name's Biff." He said, taking hold of the man's hand apprehensively.

"Fenton." Fenton said as he shook Steve's hand with a hard grip. Fenton was getting extremely suspicious. The man definitely had a southern drawl to his voice and they were very much north. It could be that this man could just be lost and on vacation, but Fenton didn't take anything out of consideration when his family was involved.

"So… what are you folks doing up in these cold parts?"

* * *

"_Got to get untied… Got to get untied….,"_ Joe said over and over in his head as he scraped his hands against the rope. He had long discarded the urine and cigarette tasting handkerchief by using his tongue to push it out of his mouth. It was the worst experience in his life for tasting things, and the taste still remained in his mouth, reminding him that he had no idea what that piece of cloth has touched.

From a distance he could hear Steve talking to somebody. He hoped it was help, but he couldn't be sure, therefore he had to help himself.

It didn't help one bit that Mother Nature was against him. Joe's butt was getting extremely numb since he was only wearing a light pair of non-absorbable pants, having stripped off his heavy snow gear while he was in the cabin. He hadn't thought of putting them back on since it would've been trouble for him to move in the tunnel.

The wind was also picking up. Joe could feel the cool, icy winds strike him with stinging force, but luckily the bushes lessened the assault.

Joe's body was also not taking well to the environment. His nose was getting tickled as the bush in front of him brushed against his cold nose. He really needed to sneeze, but making any sort of drastic movement or loud noise would draw the madman's attention.

"_Got to get untied…. Got to get untied…,"_ Joe kept chanting in his mind, sniffling once in a while as his eyes watered, caused by puffiness around his sinus area. It didn't make anything easier that his head hurt whenever he moved his head, but his mind had to be set on the goal of getting untied.

"Aha!" Joe grinned as he grimaced to pull the rest of the rope away from his wrists. Luckily for him, Steve didn't know that him and Frank used to be in the boy scouts and knew every knot in the book and how to get out of most. Steve tied a good knot, but not well enough that it out did Frank who had tied him up numerous times as a boy while playing Cops and Robbers.

Joe, free from his constraints, started to crawl on hands and knees to peek out of the bush. He couldn't see anything, but didn't dare go any further out of the bush in case he was spotted. Luckily Steve was still talking to somebody so it was his chance to escape.

Getting into a crouch, Joe started to crawl the other direction of the voices, making sure to throw snow to cover his tracks as he backed up to a place that would be safer than his current location.

* * *

"What's that?" Frank asked as he stopped for a second to peer closer, noticing that his Dad and Biff were talking to the guy, but that wasn't why he stopped. What made him stop was that he saw movement from a bush that covered the side of a set of huge boulders.

Chet also squinted his eyes, trying to see what Frank was trying to see.

"What's what?" Chet asked in confusion.

""I think that's Joe." Frank said with alarm and excitement.

"Oh my goodness…" Chet said with terror as he shook Frank's shoulder. "Look what that guy has in his back pocket and he's reaching for it!"

It was clear that something metallic was being drawn from the man's pocket and that meant his Dad and Biff were in trouble.

Both of them started running frantically, jumping over large sections that stuck up, stumbling a few times on their way down.

Suddenly the sound that shook them both resounded through the mountains. A gunshot was heard, and a body fell.

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_**Author's Note: Horrible ending, but it's 12:47am my time and I'm pretty tired. I just wanted to keep my promise and update. Thank you very much for the reviews for chapter 8. The first person who reviewed actually made me want to write. I was kinda bummed looking at the reader traffic function and knowing there are tons of people looking, maybe reading, and not giving me feedback, so thank you first reviewer and 2nd reviewer :D I'm sry :( I forgot who you two were because searching for you names will delete my author's note again :(**_

_**Anyways, please give me constructive criticism, because reviews Happy motivation more chapters faster XD It's the only way I know if people are actually reading, cuz seriously... not worth the effort if nobody is reading. **_

_**Thank you very very much for reading my story :) If you have time, drop a review and talk to you guys again when Ch. 10 comes out.. hopefully very soon.**_

_**Love,**_

**_Lgbabyblu_**

_**(Got it! Penguincrazy and Bhar :D Yah... got it afterwards. Thank you for the motivation and the support!! If it weren't you two, this chapter wouldn't be up XD or written)**_


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